Race & Ethnicity On TV

[topanga]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

You and a lot of people.  Ba-dum-bump!

Seriously, the movie bombed.  I remember when they announced she was playing Nina, people were upset because one of the defining things about Nina was how dark skinned and unequivocally African Black she looked :  Afro kinky hair, wide nose, bigger lips,  She spoke out about eurocentric standards of beauty and how she felt her looks were negatively judged against those standards,  So the casting of Saldana was already problematic because even though Zoe does identify as Afro-Latina, she actually fits the euro standards of beauty that Nina painfully reflected on and felt rejected against.  But I think people were still kinda reserving judgement.

And then the stills of Zoe as Nina came out.  Good Gravy just so wrong!  i mean, when you have to darken the skin of an already dark skinned woman and then add prosthetics to make her look African -- then you need to rethink your casting in the first place. Also the make-up was just bad.  I mean she looked like a really, really, bad Madame Tussaud's wax figure gone really wrong.

I can't help but contrast that to Denzel playing Malcolm X.  Sure not the best analogy, but Malcolm was a Ginger!  A light skinned man, with freckles and red hair.  And Denzel looked nothing like Malcolm, imo.  And they didn't even try except maybe to dye his hair red.  But he got the speech inflections so right it was uncanny.

Well said. Are you W. Kamau Bell? Kevin Avery? (podcast joke)

[DearEvette]

5 minutes ago, topanga said:

Well said. Are you W. Kamau Bell? Kevin Avery? (podcast joke)

Heh.  One of my favorite podcasts!!

[topanga]

15 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

Heh.  One of my favorite podcasts!!

Me too. I miss it. And they never reviewed Malcolm X!!!

[connieinnc]

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

You and a lot of people.  Ba-dum-bump!

Seriously, the movie bombed.  I remember when they announced she was playing Nina, people were upset because one of the defining things about Nina was how dark skinned and unequivocally African Black she looked :  Afro kinky hair, wide nose, bigger lips,  She spoke out about eurocentric standards of beauty and how she felt her looks were negatively judged against those standards,  So the casting of Saldana was already problematic because even though Zoe does identify as Afro-Latina, she actually fits the euro standards of beauty that Nina painfully reflected on and felt rejected against.  But I think people were still kinda reserving judgement.

And then the stills of Zoe as Nina came out.  Good Gravy just so wrong!  i mean, when you have to darken the skin of an already dark skinned woman and then add prosthetics to make her look African -- then you need to rethink your casting in the first place. Also the make-up was just bad.  I mean she looked like a really, really, bad Madame Tussaud's wax figure gone really wrong.

I can't help but contrast that to Denzel playing Malcolm X.  Sure not the best analogy, but Malcolm was a Ginger!  A light skinned man, with freckles and red hair.  And Denzel looked nothing like Malcolm, imo.  And they didn't even try except maybe to dye his hair red.  But he got the speech inflections so right it was uncanny.

Thank you for the clarification

[DearEvette]

2 hours ago, topanga said:

Me too. I miss it. And they never reviewed Malcolm X!!!

You know what is so funny, that I just realized?  On the episode of that podcast where Jesse Williams was the guest, he talked very frankly about light skinned privilege in casting (i think this was after his famous BET speech) and he also had strong words about the casting of Zoe Saldana in Nina.

[topanga]

55 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

You know what is so funny, that I just realized?  On the episode of that podcast where Jesse Williams was the guest, he talked very frankly about light skinned privilege in casting (i think this was after his famous BET speech) and he also had strong words about the casting of Zoe Saldana in Nina.

Yes he did

[ursula]

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

You know what is so funny, that I just realized?  On the episode of that podcast where Jesse Williams was the guest, he talked very frankly about light skinned privilege in casting (i think this was after his famous BET speech) and he also had strong words about the casting of Zoe Saldana in Nina.

"You either die a hero..."

[Dee]

Reese Witherspoon Producing Comedy ‘Americanized’ About Undocumented Iranian Family From Sara Saedi At ABC

Quote

ABC has put in development Americanized, a half-hour comedy inspired by Sara Saedi’s memoir Americanized: Rebel Without A Green Card, from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and ABC Studios, where Hello Sunshine has a broadcast overall deal.

Written by Saedi (iZombie), Americanized tells the story of a loving and off-beat Iranian family who’s been living with a huge secret: they’re undocumented immigrants. Told through an irreverent, heartfelt and a-political lens, the series will give viewers a window into the life of a Middle-Eastern household while exploring the universal truths that bond every type of “American” family.

In the book, Saedi shares her story of growing up in San Jose, California in a loving Iranian family and her shock when she discovers she and the rest of her family are undocumented.

Danny Trejo To Topline Autobiographical Family Comedy Set At ABC From Peter Murrieta & Overbrook Entertainment

Quote

ABC has put in development Food & Familia, a multi-camera multi-generational Latinx family comedy starring Danny Trejo, from sitcom veteran Peter Murrieta, Will Smith and James Lassiter’s Overbrook Entertainment and ABC Studios.

Written by Murrieta, Food & Familia is a comedy about second chances, inspired by Trejo’s life. When the matriarch of the family passes away, she leaves her restaurant to her son, Danny — who’s about to get out of prison — and her granddaughter, Michelle, who hates her father for abandoning her. This gift from beyond the grave might heal the father and daughter and get them back together but, it’s gonna be rocky as the two of them work their differences out while trying to operate a restaurant, live together, and become a real family again.

Edited October 12, 2018 by Dee

[PepSinger]

I love how Reese Witherspoon is putting in THE WORK as an ally. I fucking love her.

[QueerGirrl]

Both of those sound good!

[Neurochick]

On 10/10/2018 at 2:28 PM, connieinnc said:

A person can be Latinx with African descent, not sure if that is Ms Saldana's ethnicity, but it is hasty to jump to the conclusion that she was doing blackface.

From what I saw, it was blackface, not because she's not black, but they had to make her up to look darker. 

Here's why I thought that was a problem.  Now, Billie Holiday was lighter and heavier than Diana Ross, and didn't even sound like Diana Ross, but in 1972, Diana Ross was a HUGE star and Motown produced Lady Sings the Blues.  

Zoe Saldana isn't anywhere near as popular as Diana Ross was when she played Billie Holiday, so why was she chosen to play Nina Simone?

ETA that Denzel didn't look anything like Malcolm either, (I mean he wasn't called 'Detroit Red' for nothing), but Denzel was and is one of the biggest movie stars in the world, so there is that.

Edited October 16, 2018 by Neurochick

[Dee]

Freeform’s ‘Party of Five’ Reboot Casts Its Leads

Quote

Brandon Larracuente, Emily Tosta, Niko Guardado and Elle Paris Legaspi have been cast as the Buendía siblings Emilio, Lucia, Beto and Valentina, respectively. In a reimagining of the original series, the new show will focus on the siblings as they struggle to survive as a family after their parents are deported to Mexico. Freeform gave the project a pilot order back in September.

Edited October 22, 2018 by Dee

[Trini]

This news is a couple of weeks old (I don't follow Gotham), but looks like comic character Bane has been whitewashed again. (And yes, I know a person can be White and Hispanic/Latinx; but the actor isn't.)

[Minneapple]

16 hours ago, Dee said:

Freeform’s ‘Party of Five’ Reboot Casts Its Leads

Why are they even bothering to call this Party of Five? To capitalize on the popularity of the old show? 

It actually looks like an interesting show all on its own. I would rather they have called it something different so we don't get endless bitching about how it's the same/different from the original and why that's good/bad. 

[topanga]

40 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

Why are they even bothering to call this Party of Five? To capitalize on the popularity of the old show? 

It actually looks like an interesting show all on its own. I would rather they have called it something different so we don't get endless bitching about how it's the same/different from the original and why that's good/bad. 

Agreed. I’d watch this show in a minute, but I hate that it’s likely going to have to fight an uphill battle when people automatically criticize it because it’s not the original POF.

[ursula]

From the description, they're not even a Party of Five as there are four kids. Seriously, someone should give it a different name because it's an awesome concept and can stand on its own legs.

[dargosmydaddy]

3 hours ago, ursula said:

From the description, they're not even a Party of Five as there are four kids.

Well, if it's anything like the original, maybe the fifth kid is a baby or toddler.

[HunterHunted]

21 hours ago, Trini said:

This news is a couple of weeks old (I don't follow Gotham), but looks like comic character Bane has been whitewashed again. (And yes, I know a person can be White and Hispanic/Latinx; but the actor isn't.)

Hector Elizondo and Danny Trejo are the only Hispanic/Latinx actors to play Bane. He's always been voiced or portrayed by a white actor except when Michael Dorn voiced the character.

[GHScorpiosRule]

35 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

Hector Elizondo and Danny Trejo are the only Hispanic/Latinx actors to play Bane. He's always been voiced or portrayed by a white actor except when Michael Dorn voiced the character.

I’m pretty sure Henry Silva voiced him in Batman: The Animated Series.

[HunterHunted]

32 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I’m pretty sure Henry Silva voiced him in Batman: The Animated Series.

He did. However, his Wikipedia page says he is of Italian and Portuguese descent. Under Trivia in his IMDB bio, it says both of his parents are from Puerto Rico. I didn't think I could include him because of the discrepancy. He may be hiding his Puerto Rican ancestry, but he apparently specifically denied being Puerto Rican on the DVD commentary of The Return of Mr. Moto.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Silva?wprov=sfla1

Edited October 24, 2018 by HunterHunted

[HunterHunted]

I think everyone at NBC is quite rightly pissed that they decided to pay Megyn Kelly, asshole provocateur, millions upon millions for this shit:

https://news.avclub.com/megyn-kelly-learned-blackface-was-bad-today-and-her-ow-1829954930

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/24/media/megyn-kelly-blackface-al-roker/index.html

Kelly is racist and/or being provocative, but she sure as shit wasn't unaware that blackface is offensive.

[Annber03]

I loved that segment. Yeah, Kelly needs to just...stop. 

[Minneapple]

It's just unbelievable to me that Megyn Kelly has a job. And nobody at NBC was like "STOP IT LADY THIS IS A VERY BAD IDEA"?

[Silver Raven]

This is the same Megyn Kelly who, when she was on Fox News, said only white men can portray Santa Claus.

Edited October 24, 2018 by Silver Raven

[QueerGirrl]

Amber Ruffin gives me life!

[DearEvette]

Megyn Kelly doesn't have the charm or charisma to attract a morning talk show audience or any sort of positive attention.  The only time she gets any attention is when she does something execrable.

And no, Diana Ross is not a Halloween costume.  She is an actual living person.  It is disingenuous and stupid.

Also she puts 'blacks in whiteface' as something comparable to 'blackface.'  That isn't a thing.  I googled 'whiteface'  you know what I got?  Picture after picture after picture of a mountain!  I then googled 'blackface' and got verrrry different results.  Gah.  She's an idiot.

Also it is possible to dress up like your favorite fictional character for Halloween who is black and not darken your skin.  to whit:

Edited October 25, 2018 by DearEvette

[Danny Franks]

3 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

This is the same Megyn Kelly who, when she was on Fox News, said only white men can portray Santa Claus.

Worse, really. Because she said "Santa's white, he just is" to 'comfort' kids who might otherwise think he wasn't.

[Minneapple]

So shockingly NBC ran a rerun in place of Megyn Kelly's show today and and people are anticipating that she's finished. I hope whoever at NBC thought it was a good idea to hire racist trash like her is canned right alongside her and her $23 million salary. 

[Dee]

GLAAD Report Shows Record-High LGBTQ Representation On TV In 2018 With People Of Color Leading The Charge

Quote

GLAAD released their annual “Where We Are on TV” report for the 2018-2019 TV season Thursday morning and the numbers showed a record-high percentage of LGBTQ regular characters on broadcast TV, with LGBTQ people of color outnumbering white LGBTQ people for the first time.

[DearEvette]

Mindy Kaling is co-writing and producing a new limited series on Hulu,  Four Weddings and Funeral, inspired by the 1994 movie.  It has cast four of the principal cast so far with two of them POC.  Jessica Williams, who is listed as the lead, and Nikesh Patel.   Here's the Deadline article.

[jhlipton]

9 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

Mindy Kaling is co-writing and producing a new limited series on Hulu,  Four Weddings and Funeral, inspired by the 1994 movie.  It has cast four of the principal cast so far with two of them POC.  Jessica Williams, who is listed as the lead, and Nikesh Patel.   Here's the Deadline article.

One of them is a Black Woman, Jessica Williams.

[Dee]

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Author Kevin Kwan Scores Put Pilot Commitment for Asian-Led Comedy at CBS

Quote

The multi-camera comedy is titled “The Emperor of Malibu.” It follows two very different families–one from Shanghai with new money and one from the East coast of the U.S. with old money– that must learn to co-exist when their children get married.

[memememe76]

I will watch, but I am tired of rich people stories.

[Dee]

'Girls Trip,' 'Night School' Director Malcolm D. Lee Lands Put Pilot at NBC

Quote

Lee is writing and executive producing At That Age, a family drama set in Harlem. The Universal TV project has a put pilot commitment from NBC. Former Nickelodeon and Disney exec Nikki Reed is also an executive producer.

At That Age is an exploration of a Harlem family's legacy. After the Cooper family's golden child suffers a catastrophic event, seven family members face a foundational shift, make life-altering decisions and deal with deep secrets coming to light.

Edited October 29, 2018 by Dee

[Dee]

‘Carl Weber’s The Family Business’ Movies Starring Ernie Hudson Acquired By BET To Air As TV Series; November Debut Set

Quote

The Family Business was originally developed and produced as an indie feature franchise based on the books. The first film started filming in July 2017, with Tri Destined Studios and Urban Books Media producing for a fall 2018 release. The companies subsequently put together a sequel with the same cast, which is still in production. Instead of pursuing a theatrical release, the producers took the two movies to BET. They will now be recut into an eight-episode series, which will be a co-production of BET, Tri Destined Studios and Urban Books Media. I hear there is talk about potential future installments.

Meet the Duncans, a prominent family from Jamaica, Queens living fast and luxurious. By day, they’re an upstanding family; by night, they live a dangerous secret life. The patriarch of the family, L.C. Duncan (Hudson), is at the age when he’s starting to think about retirement and has to decide which of his children should take over his thriving exotic car dealership. The Duncans quickly come under siege from some of the top politicians, mafia and drug cartels in the city. The Duncans will have to stick together or die separately.

Edited November 1, 2018 by Dee

[xaxat]

So good. The new hosts of Megyn Kelly's hour on Today are POC.

[Sparger Springs]

11 hours ago, xaxat said:

So good. The new hosts of Megyn Kelly's hour on Today are POC.

I hope Al got a big raise. They screwed Tamron and Al over for Megan Kelly. Then to add insult to injury they paid her twice what they paid Al and Tamron together.  All NBC got for their trouble was poor ratings. 

[stillhere1900]

On 9/7/2018 at 7:44 PM, UYI said:

The legendary Ellen Holly on her run as Carla on One Life to Live. (There are more clips on YouTube; the full interview is also available.) For those who don't know, a few months into OLTL's run in 1968, Carla Gray, a light-skinned black woman, came to Llanview trying to pass as an Italian-American white woman named Clara Benari...until she ran into her mother, Sadie.

 

 

"Light-skinned Black woman"   equals... Bi-racial  

I guess some still go by the "one drop of Black blood" makes  you "BLACK"  Really hard to ignore that one of her parents is White.

[DearEvette]

Lifetime tv is doing an updated remake of Pride and Prejudice called Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta starring an all black cast.  Deadline has an article about it.

[Silver Raven]

5 hours ago, stillhere1900 said:

"Light-skinned Black woman"   equals... Bi-racial  

I guess some still go by the "one drop of Black blood" makes  you "BLACK"  Really hard to ignore that one of her parents is White.

Carla's father was never identified, but I don't recall there ever being any indication that he was white.

[stillhere1900]

Look at Carla and you can see that her father was White. esp if her mother was Black

[Trini]

Just another shout-out for God Friended Me, which may not be a show for everyone, but it's doing a great job so far of featuring a variety of of brown peoples in regular, recurring, background, and guest roles.

[xaxat]

It's pretty amazing how diverse CBS has become in just a few years. God Friended Me, The Neighborhood, Magnum PI, SWAT. . . 

I got a lot of mileage here out of bashing their old lily white lineups.

[Dee]

Michael Yo To Star In Autobiographical Family Comedy In Works At Fox

Quote

Fox is developing a multi-camera, multi-generational family comedy co-written by and starring comedian Michael Yo inspired by his life. The project hails from CBS TV Studios, co-producing with Fox, and Andy Fickman’s Oops Doughnuts.

Written by Nick Adams (Bojack Horseman) and Yo, the untitled comedy centers on a young couple’s life that is made more complicated when the guy’s (Yo) over-achieving African American, PhD Scientist/Ex-Military father and scheming Asian mother show up to help them take care of their newborn baby and adjust to their new surroundings.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Dee

[xaxat]

On 11/8/2018 at 8:50 AM, Dee said:

scheming Asian mother

That description gives me pause.

[Neurochick]

On 11/5/2018 at 5:02 PM, Silver Raven said:

Carla's father was never identified, but I don't recall there ever being any indication that he was white.

I hate that people assume that a light skinned black person HAS to be biracial.  I think it’s stupid and ignorant.

[Silver Raven]

35 minutes ago, Neurochick said:

I hate that people assume that a light skinned black person HAS to be biracial.  I think it’s stupid and ignorant.

I don't think I ever said that.

[Dee]

As soon as it was announced DJ married Geena on Roseanne, I knew the character would be a pariah, and like clockwork, yet another fandom rushes to hate on a Black female character.

[Neurochick]

On 11/5/2018 at 11:11 AM, stillhere1900 said:

On 9/7/2018 at 9:44 PM, UYI said:

The legendary Ellen Holly on her run as Carla on One Life to Live. (There are more clips on YouTube; the full interview is also available.) For those who don't know, a few months into OLTL's run in 1968, Carla Gray, a light-skinned black woman, came to Llanview trying to pass as an Italian-American white woman named Clara Benari...until she ran into her mother, Sadie.

 

 

 

"Light-skinned Black woman"   equals... Bi-racial  

I guess some still go by the "one drop of Black blood" makes  you "BLACK"  Really hard to ignore that one of her parents is White.

 

10 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

I don't think I ever said that.

You didn't.  I was responding to the above.

[jhlipton]

17 hours ago, Dee said:

As soon as it was announced DJ married Geena on Roseanne, I knew the character would be a pariah, and like clockwork, yet another fandom rushes to hate on a Black female character.

As far as airtime, she's gotten more than Bev, who is more closely related to the main characters.  Also, Geena will most likely show up with DJ, and Michael Fishman has neither the talent nor the wish to be more than a peripheral character.  And Mary, her daughter, has not only gotten airtime but some pretty good lines (plus, she's black, not light!).   So I'm not upset with the show.  [**]

As to the fans, haterz gonna hate.  Not much we can do about it.

 

[**] ETA: Geena will be the focus of the next episode "The Separation of Church and Dan".  So I don't see the show treating her like a pariah, even if certain members of fandom do.

Edited November 15, 2018 by jhlipton